One of the biggest offensive weapons that went to the Senior Bowl was Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates. While this year’s class is not as accomplished as the 2014 one was, there are plenty of exciting options to consider if your dynasty team needs some help. I reviewed three of his college games (LSU, Arkansas, and Texas A & M) along with his practices and the half game he played in Mobile. Here is what I saw:

WR Sammie Coates, Auburn 6’ 2” 201 lbs.

Cons: One of the most aggravating aspects of any football player is inconsistency. Coates shows varying efforts depending on the number of targets and plays designed for him. He doesn’t always catch the ball with his outstretched hands; instead the wide out uses his body too much to secure passes. The receiver is a long strider who takes time to get to full speed. His exaggerated foot chop makes him slower changing directions, which gives defenders a chance to keep stride with him. There were a few times he got targeted on bubble screens, but they were quickly thwarted because of his lack of fluidity. Coates also tends to round off his routes, making it more difficult for quarterbacks to be accurate with their passes.

Pros: Coates lines up mostly on the outside, but occasionally in the slot. The wide out uses his hands well to get off the initial jam on the line of scrimmage. He attacks jump balls in the air muscling the pigskin away from anyone else, or tries to shield defenders away with his big body, and contorts himself while making the difficult catches. This makes him a terrific red zone threat with good body control and the ability to toe-tap right before going out-of-bounds.

The receiver tracks the ball well in the air and has the leaping ability to sky above defensive backs to get to it. Once he is open downfield by using a double more or so, the wide out can turn on a second gear making him hard to contain. Coates is willing to catch the ball in the middle of the field while trying to punish his tacklers as much as they try to punish him. He has a very strong upper body and that is on display when he stiff-arms smaller defensive backs. The wide out is a willing blocker who gets in front of his defender and drives him back while keeping his feet chopping.

Overall thoughts: This rookie receiver will not overwhelm you with his speed or quickness. He is simply a tough one cut and go guy that could be a solid NFL WR2. Coates reminds me a bit of the Steelers Martavis Bryant, who is another good downfield receiver and a decent short yardage weapon that fights the ball with his hands at times. On the downside of that observation, I also see some of Oakland’s James Jones, who is a player that needs a lot of targets and good quarterback play to be effective.

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